Judiciary shortlists 34 candidates for Kadhi positions
The planned recruitment is aimed at bolstering the capacity of the Kadhis’ Courts and improving access to justice among Muslims.
The Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) has shortlisted 34 applicants who applied for the five positions of Resident Kadhis.
The 34 are among 261 applicants who applied for the vacant positions, which were advertised on June 9.
In a statement, the Commission said dates for the interviews will be communicated to the applicants.
The planned recruitment is aimed at bolstering the capacity of the Kadhis’ Courts and improving access to justice among Muslims.
The recruitment process comes more than 10 years after the Judiciary halted the process to fill 20 vacant positions in the Kadhi courts. This was after the chairman of SUPKEM Mombasa branch, Sheikh Muhdhar Khitamy complained of what he termed as bias recruitment. He argued that the Coast region got only 3 positions, while the rest were allocated to other parts of the country.
In 2021, the Judiciary advertised 15 positions for Kadhis, but the recruitment was also suspended after some individuals raised questions regarding the recruitment process.
The list of shortlisted candidates released on Wednesday, November 12, includes Hassan Makokha, Abubakar Muhsin Ali, Ahmed Abdulhafidh Karama, Hussein Muktar Hilowle, Osman Duba Molu, Adhan Mohamed Shide and Abdulqadir Ibrahim Alareimy.
Others are Abubakar Abdu Maka, Mohamed Ali Omar, Ibrahim Gollo Wako, Faki Said Mkanga, Siasa Idd Ngare, Hassan Yusuf Akasi, Feisal Hatib Ali, Ashraf Onyango Saleh, Ali Salim Said, Hassan Mohamed Gure, and Abubakar Jirma Duba.
Also on the list are Abdisatar Abdi Ibrahim, Ali Hassan Okunne, Abdallah Ronald Akuku, Adan Ahmed Dakat, Juma Dokata Diba, Saidi Shabani Mwagoti, Yassir Abdulkadir Shaibu and Elijah Cheruiyot Maritim.
The list also includes Abdiwahab Sanbur Adan, Abdirahman Dekow Guhad, Adan Ali Maalim, Ahmed Abdikarim Abdirahman, Mohamed Abdikher Kulmiye, Abdijimal Mohamed Abdirahman, Mohamed Sheikh Ismail and Abdulkarim Abubakar Shekue.
While the expected appointments will help speed up the resolution of cases in the Kadhi courts, they are short of the number of Kadhis required to address the existing staffing shortages. There have been longstanding complaints from Muslim leaders that the Judiciary has dragged its foot in recruiting Kadhis to fill vacant positions left by retired officials, while other stations have gone for a long period without the judicial officers who handle matters under Islamic law.
Among the duties of the Kadhis as outlined by the Judicial Service Commission include arbitration of disputes on inheritance, marriage, and divorce in Muslim families, solemnizing and registering Muslim marriages, supervising pronunciation of divorces and registering them, keeping records of all arbitrations, and submitting returns of all registered marriages and divorces to the Chief Kadhi.
There are currently 14 stand-alone Kadhis’ courts across the country, with the rest integrated into various Magistrates’ Courts.
In addition to the five Kadhi positions, the JSC is seeking to fill 145 other vacancies in the judiciary, which include 15 positions for judges of the Court of Appeal, 20 for judges of the High Court, and 10 for judges of the Environment and Land Court, as well as 60 Resident Magistrates and 40 adjudicators for the Small Claims Court.